Stephen woodward



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE. i

STEPHEN WOODWARD, OF SUTTON, NE\V HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR TO S. WOODWARD, JOS. P. NELSON, AND A. C. CARROLL.

APPARATUS FOR DRYING CLOTHES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 11,985, dated November 21, 1854.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN VOODWARD, of Sutton, in the county of Merrimac and State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improved Clothes-Drier or a new and useful Improvement in Machinery or Apparatus for Drying Clothes; and I do hereby declare that the same is fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, letters, figures, and references thereof.

Y Of the said drawings, Figure l, denotes a side elevation and Fig. 2, a vert-ical section of my improved clothes drier.

It is constructed as follows,-A, is a stand or post supported by legs or crossed timbers B, B, or inserted in and elevated above the ground. The upper half of the post is made cylindrical for the purpose of receiving upon it a cylindrical hub or slide, C, from which four or any other suitable number of arms or poles D, D, &c., are made to radiate or project horizontally. The side of the cylin drical post is provided with a groove E, formed in it, from top to bottom and so `as to receive a clasp, F, from a rack, Gr, the said clasp being made to extend within the cylindrical hub and to embrace it by means of shoulders, a, Z), as seen in Fig. 2. When the rack is elevated or depressed it will produce a corresponding elevation or depression of the hub and arms, while the hub and arms are free to be rotated in a horizontal direction. The rack is operated by means of a pinion or gear H., which is supported on a shaft I, applied to the post A, and provided with a crank as seen in the drawings. There is a ratchet L, on the shaft, I, the said ratchet being provided with a retaining pawl, M, which is jointed or hinged to the post A.

By applying the hand to the crank and putting it in revolution the rack may be moved so as to either elevate or depress the radial frame or series of arms and to bring them down into a convenient position for the reception of clothes, or to raise them up to the top of the mast or post, it being understood that the clothes are to be hung stretched between said arms.

In clothes driers as commonly constructed the arms are arranged generally at a height above the ground about equal to that at which an adult can reach in order to supply them with clothes or to remove such from the arms. Under these circumstances, when clothes are on the arms they are very much in the way of a person in passing under the arms, and they thus cause the Vclothes drier to occupy much yard room that is very inconvenient to spare.

With my improved clothes drier, the clothes after being placed on it can be elevated so as to be entirely above a lpersons head and so that he can pass directly under neath them without coming into contact with them. Besidesthis they may be elevated so as to-be more fully exposed to the wind than they can be when nearer to the ground. The inode of applying the hub to the post, and that of applying the rack to hub, enables the series of arms to be put in rotation by the wind so as to cause the clothes to be more freely exposed to its drying action than they would be were the hub fastened to the rack.

I am aware that a clothes drier has been made with a series of radial arms applied to 'and made to turn on the top of a post; I

therefore do not claim such, but

W/'hat I do claim is- My improved clothes drier constructed substantially as described or so as to enable the series of arms not only to rot-ate on the post but to be elevated and depressed as described and so as to remove the clothes out of the way of a person and to carry them into higher atmospheric currents as eX- plained.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my signature this twelfth day of May A. D. 1854.

STEPHEN WOODWARD.

Witnesses:

SUSAN S. PAGE, ASA PAGE. 

